XM551 Sheridan
|price = 6,100,000 |preceded_by = T49|leads_to = N/A|hull_armor = 14.3/31.8/12.7|weight = 15/20 t}}The is an American Tier X Light Tank. It is one of the few tanks who are considered light tanks at Tier X. It has paper thin armour all around, the thickest piece at only 38.1 mm thick, not angled very well, penetrated by even HE shells. Judging from its raw stats, the Sheridan had minor differences from The T49. With the same derp gun from T49, a bigger hull, lower weight, and being covered with wet toilet paper armor, this can turn some players off. But, to redeem its downside, the Sheridan received a handy 105mm AP gun with great penetration and accuracy. It also has some thin but useful all-around spaced armor to protect it from HESH or HEAT shells. In more detail into the armament, the player can choose between the 105mm, or the 152mm gun. The 105mm offers decent accuracy, with good penetration, nice shell velocity, decent DPM, and acceptable RoF. Surprisingly enough, the 105mm has lower DPM than the 152mm and more expensive ammunition. With Venting, Gun Rammer, and Brother in Arms, it boosts the DPM to just over 3000. The 152mm, on the other hand, has DPM that reaches out at 2847, far more alpha, and less expensive ammunition. Like the T49, it can also carry HEAT secondary while HESH as premium. However, like other large-calibre guns, it is quite inaccurate, slow shell velocity, and 20 second reload time. The DPM and (Slightly unusual) gun characteristics can be further improved with Gun Rammer, Brother in Arms, and Venting, which brings the total DPM to 3306 and 15 second reload time! The XM551 Sheridan marks the end of its American light line. The M41 Walker Bulldog was originally built to be to the the United State's light tank. However, it soon proved to be somewhat unsatisfactory, as they claimed 25 tons was too heavy for such class. It also had some short cruising range. Development of the T71 and T92 light tanks started in the 1950s, having the goal to lighten the weight and make its roles more flexible while mounting the same (Or at least equivalent) gun. Both were able to be air dropped. However, information of the new soviet PT-76 halted the development of both tanks, as the PT-76 is amphibious. The T92 was already in development and could not be changed to where it could swim, so the project was dropped and the XM551 Sheridan program was started. Going in the 1960s, the MBT 70 and XM551 Sheridan projects were underway. Fearing Congress would start cutting funds for both projects, the Sheridan was designated as an Armored Reconnaissance vehicle rather than a light tank, which essentially ended the light, medium, heavy tank classification (For the United States at least). In 1966, the Sheridan was accepted into production. At the same time, the M103 Heavy tank was phased out and the new M60 Main Battle Tank was adopted into service. (Partially) Because of the 'Universal' tank doctrine, the M551 was officially classified as an "Armored Reconnaissance/Airborne Assault Vehicle". The Sheridan was extensively used in Vietnam (With the Missile and its guided systems omitted). The armor was enough to protect the insides up to 12.7mm AP ammunition, but was easily vulnerable to RPGs. Spalling that made contact with the caseless ammunition often caused an explosion. Like the M113 Armored Carrier, it was also vulnerable to mines. Many problems were soon identified, which included the cook-off vulnerability when the rounds were in the breech and the recoil of the gun compared to the vehicle's weight (Thus leading to massive visible recoil). Congress soon cited that both the M551 and M60 tank programs ate up 1.3 Billion dollars in funding. Add with that, the Army secretly refused to disclose the program costs. A report in July 1969 claimed that the programs wasted 1.2 billions dollars and attributed several problems that contributed to Vietnam's total casualty count. Those same problems would've been solved if the Army did costly retrofits. The Sheridan also saw post-Vietnam service, many going as long until 2003. A few saw service in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Another select few participated in the Invasion of Panama of 1989. Many of the Sheridans still in service were found to be good base tanks to remodel into mock-up Soviet tanks of the Warsaw pack (Notably the BMP-1, ZSU-23, T-55, and the T-80). Soon enough, the wheeled M1128 Mobile Gun System replaced the Sheridan in the early 2000s. Trivia * It is the only tier X light tank in the American tech tree. *This infobox applies to the tank with the 152mm *This infobox applies to the tank with the 105mm Pros and Cons Pros - Choice of two guns; 105mm gun with excellent gun handling and accuracy and 152mm derp gun from T49 with faster reload time and very high alpha damage that can be very deadly against lightly armored vehicles - Excellent gun elevation on both guns (-10/20 degrees) - Long base view range (at 420 meters) - Excellent acceleration and speed - 360 degrees of spaced hull armour that can protect it from HESH or HEAT shots and an additional grid at the front - Tied with Rheinmetall Panzerwagen for highest HP points of all LTs (1600) - 152mm has unusually high DPM compared to other large-calibre guns. - 152mm can carry HEAT as secondary Cons - Largest LT in the game with almost no armor; Easily crippled by HE shots if it doesn't hit frontal grid or if it manages to get through the all-around spaced armor. - 105mm gun has (Slightly) subpar penetration for its tier; struggle when fighting against heavily armored opponents - 152mm gun reload time is still slow even while faster than T49 (19 seconds with 100% crew) - 152mm gun handling is horrible, with awful aim time and accuracy (But acceptable due to the nature of large calibre guns) - Fairly large size with little weight; Very vulnerable against ramming Category:Light Tanks Category:American Tanks Category:Tier X Tanks Category:Tanks